14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 has a hard time to get closer to Windows 7 in terms of global market share, and new data provided by research firm NetMarketShare reveals that Microsoft’s latest operating system is barely improving these days.
Windows 7 continues to lead the desktop OS world with a share of no less than 49.04 percent, while Windows 10 is the runner-up, but with just 26.80 percent. Shockingly, Windows XP is third with 6.94 percent, followed by Windows 8.1 with 6.40 percent.
In terms of Windows 10 adoption, the operating system launched in July 2015 is currently stagnating, as the June 2017 market share has increased only by 0.02 percent from the previous month. Signs of a possible slowdown in Windows 10 adoption were experienced since May when it improved only by 0.50 percent, following a massive 0.92 percent the previous month.
The Windows 7 problem
Windows 10’s big problem is Windows 7, which continues to be the most used desktop operating system across the world. At this point, Windows 7 is running on nearly 1 in 2 PCs worldwide and the chances are that it would only decrease slightly in the next few months.
Back in 2015 when Microsoft took the wraps off Windows 10, Windows 7 was running on approximately 60 percent of computers, so in more than 2 years, the 2009 desktop operating system lost some 10 percent of its market share. This means that Windows 10 is mostly gaining market share not necessarily from Windows 7, but from Windows XP and 8.1, both of which are losing users at a much faster pace.
This is actually quite a big problem for Microsoft, as Windows 7 is reaching end of support in January 2020 and the Redmond-based software giant needs to migrate users to Windows 10 as soon as possible.
Until now, there are no signs that Windows 7 is ready to go dark, so Microsoft is very likely to experience another Windows XP moment in 2020 when users could refuse to upgrade despite the obvious security risks caused by running software without support.